The district attorney’s office is appealing a July 6 ruling by a judge who concluded that cellphone records obtained by investigators were taken without probable cause and thus cannot be used at an arson trial involving a boathouse and fishing vessel in Waldoboro.
Attorney General Janet Mills approved July 20 the request by the district attorney’s office to appeal Justice Daniel Billings’ ruling to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The ruling came in the arson case of James “Jamie” R. Simmons, 40, and Fredrick A. Campbell, 31, both of Friendship.
The two men and Jeffrey Luce, 36, of Whitefield were indicted in September 2014 on arson charges after they allegedly set fire to a Quonset hut-style boathouse in Waldoboro as part of a dispute over fishing territory. The charges came after a lengthy investigation.
Billings stated in his ruling that the only evidence authorities had presented for a search warrant to connect James Simmons to the fire was a statement from the sternman of Donald Simmons, the victim in the case, that he saw what looked like James Simmons’ truck speeding from the vicinity of where the fire occurred at about the time of the blaze. Donald Simmons and James Simmons are not related.
That statement was used to get a search warrant for Simmons’ and Campbell’s cellphone records as well as those belonging to Simmons’ wife. Those records indicated calls were made between Simmons, his wife, Campbell, and other people around the time of the fire.
“Probable cause is a low standard, but is more than mere suspicion,” Billings ruled.
He said the single statement was not enough to establish probable cause to connect James Simmons to the arson and thus the records would not be able to be used at trial. He said the evidence for a search of Campbell’s records was even less strong since the only connection is that Campbell was James Simmons’ sternman.
James Simmons is represented by attorney Leonard Sharon of Auburn. Campbell is represented by Peter Rodway of Portland.
Assistant District Attorney Andrew Wright said that the evidence of cellphone records is important but that even if the state does not win the appeal, there is a lot more evidence that will be presented at trial.
He said he expects the case to go on the February or March trial schedule.
The fire destroyed a boathouse owned by Donald Simmons and a 36-foot fiberglass lobster boat inside owned by Danny Reed Jr. of Friendship, a paraplegic who had planned to go tuna fishing.
The fishing boat, valued at $150,000, had been paid off but was not insured, according to police. The building was valued at about $50,000.
The three men charged were released from jail on bail within a few days of their arrests.
James Simmons and Donald Simmons also have accused each other of cutting hundreds of lobster traps in the dispute, according to officers.
The big break in the arson case occurred in May 2014 after Luce was arrested for stealing batteries. Luce had been a former sternman, along with Campbell, for James Simmons.
Investigators said in reports filed in court that Luce told them that he was visiting with James Simmons on the evening of the fire, when the two went for a ride and stopped at Campbell’s residence. James Simmons and Campbell had been drinking heavily, according to police reports filed in court.
Luce said Campbell suggested they retaliate against Donald Simmons and all three agreed, according to the affidavit. Campbell got some kerosene and they drove to Donald Simmons’ place. Campbell was dropped off at the end of the driveway and Luce and James Simmons returned to James Simmons’ home.
Luce said that kerosene was spilled in the car and James Simmons asked him to take the vehicle to his home in Whitefield to clean it. A floor mat soaked with kerosene and Campbell’s sweatshirt were disposed of in woods behind the Whitefield home.
Those items were recovered last month by investigators and tested positive for an accelerant. The vehicle they used the night of the fire had been sold but police tracked it down and found that the discarded floor mat fit the vehicle.